Lenordinary
by Kitada
Summary: Lenore Telltale, a young psychic in Halloweentown, embarks on an adventure to defeat a malicious vilainess who plans to take over Halloween.
1. Lenordinary

1: Lenordinary I flopped down on my four-poster bed, draped in black lace, and groaned quietly. Not only did I have no customers all day, but I was starting to doubt that anyone in the whole town liked me at all. When I took my nightly stroll around Town Square, all anyone did was stare and whisper about the "new girl". I wouldn't have minded, but in fact I WASN'T new; I had lived in Halloween Town all my life. They just never noticed me, untill now for some reason. I didn't know anything about my family at all. I didn't know from whom I got my long blonde hair, or my pale skin, or my short, small build, or even my keen fashion sense (at the moment I was wearing a short, black dress with a layer of purple gauze on the skirt, as well as purple and black striped tights, along with the black ribbon I always wore around my neck). I didn't really worry about my family, though. I just wanted to fit in. Suddenly, I heared a sharp knock on the door. I burst out the door that separated the shop from my living quarters, and peeked out the keyhole. My eyes encountered two large, pinstriped sticks. Upon closer inspection, I realized that I was staring at the legs of Jack Skellington. I quickly opened the door, and Jack stepped inside, followed by Sally, who looked very worried. I invited them to sit at the large ebony table with me. "I would say good evening, but to you, it doesn't seem that good," I said, "What's wrong?" Sally sighed, and I saw deep bags under her eyes. I wondered what could poosibly have happened. "Lenore, we have a bit of a problem," Jack said plaintively, "A great evil is brewing here in Halloween Town. Just yesterday, Lock, Shock and Barrel dissapeared." I gasped, "Do you know who did it?" "Yes, I'm afraid. She left a rather gruesome calling card." Jack fished inside his ribs and came out with a small buisiness card. I took it from him and studied it. It WAS gruesome. All it was was a splatter of dark blood on the card, now faded and brownish. "Luckily the doctor was able to do a blood test and figure out who it was." Jack said, "It belongs to a woman called Malicia la Tresca. Malicia was a renowned villain, known for her acts of torture upon her victims..." I cried out softly, "...and she once proclaimed there was an art to it; an art of torture. We don't know where she is now, but we think you can help us with that." He took the card back, and this time pulled a small circular locket out of his ribs. This he handed to me. I looked at the locket for a moment, then clasped it tightly. I would have done anything to prevent what happened next. A horrible, deep kind of pain filled me, running through my body like you might scan a bar code, forcing my eyes shut; forcing me to see what I then did... A castle, made of what looked like solid fire, hidden inside a deep underground tunnel. Mind's eye took me inside the castle, to a great dungeon; all the cages made of the same substance. A woman who looked about twenty years old was standing in front of one of the cages. She was wearing a very revealing red dress and knee high boots. She was also carrying a whip. Then she unlocked one of the cage, and dragged out a small figure, using what seemed like an enourmous, snowy wind, but somehow under control. I noticed that she could do anything with that wind. That's when the whip came down, and I could watch no more. I woke to the sound of Jack's voice: "Lenore! What did you see? Lenore? LENORE!" I slit one eyelid open, just a bit. Jack asked again, "What did you see?" I told him everything. Sally gasped here nd there, but Jack remained silent. After what seemed like hours, I finished my tale and Sally and I both looked expectantly at Jack. he shook his head. "We have to find that castle," he said quietly, "What you saw, Lenore; that can't happen again." Suddenly, Sally spoke up, "Lenore! You have to help us!" Jack and I said it at the same time: "WHAT?" "You were such a great help! And I'm sure you can do something great to help us find Malicia's castle." Sally said hopefully. Had I heard right? Sally wanted me, plain, ordinary ME to help them fight unspeakable evil? I had to take a moment to pinch myself. I wasn't dreaming. "B-but,Malicia looked so horrible, and how do you know I can help?" "I have a feeling." Jack said, smining at me warmly. I finally had friends! I finally belonged in Halloween Town. 


	2. The Blue Person

2: The Blue Person I walked up the lonely drive, ballet flats making no sound against the pavement. After moving into the guest room at Skellington Hall, I had done some thinking about Halloween night. I was never the type to just sit and watch things (well, actually I was, but it didn't seem that way now). I wanted a part in the celebration. I told Jack about my concerns, and he directed me to 000 Batwing Square, which was a little lakeside community just outside town borders. I had never been there before, so I was excited. I reached the lake, and saw the house Jack wanted me to go to. It was small and flat-looking, with blue paint on pretty much everything that wasn't alive. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward untill my feet carried me to the house, and, nervously, I knocked on the door. I didn't really know why I was so nervous. I guess it was just because I wanted to make a good impression. But when I saw the shape of a girl my age in the tinted glass, I panicked. I watched her get nearer to the door, and finally, she twisted the doorknob and opened the door. She kind of looked like she had a piece of blue plastic draped over her. Everything about her was blue: Her skin was a pale, robin's egg blue; her hair was dark indigo. She was wearing a blue leather tube top, and blue velvet track pants. The whites of her eyes weren't even white: they were the lightest, palest blue. For a moment I could do nothing but stare. Then I remembered my manners and said, "I'm Lenore Telltale. Jack said to come here and ask you about a part, you know, for Halloween." "Oh!" the girl exclaimed, "SO cool! Come in, and I'll find a perfect line in the song for you!" I stepped inside. The inside of the house was pretty much the same as the outside, except there was three very large toadstools in one corner, presumably for sitting on. She took one and I took the one opposite her. She then brought out a large clipboard laden with papers. "Let's see." she muttered, "Lenore...Lennnnore," She stretched out the 'n'. "AHA! I've got it!" "You have a line for me?" I said unbelievably. "Yes!" the girl said, handing me a slip of paper. I read it aloud: "'I am the who when you call "who's there?' But isn't that someone else's line?" "Not anymore! The North Wind decided to head south for the winter." We giggled, and she said, "I'm Annabelle Lee." "Lenore," I introduced myself, "Lenore Telltale" "Hmmm." Annabelle frowned for a moment, then broke out into a smile, "I'm gonna make this real simple: do you wanna be my friend?" "Sure!" I replied, "And I'm sure Jack and Sally would love to have you for dinner." "Right now?" she looked puzzled. "Why not? I'll race you there!" And with that I ran out the door, around the lake, and back into town, Annabelle on my heels. ...to be continued... 


	3. The Hinterlands Warrior

3: The Hinterlands Warrior "Lenore, wait!" Annabelle ran to catch up with me, panting and looking tired. Jack had told us to search the Hinterlands for Malicia's Frozen Fire Castle, and Annabelle hadn't really wanted to go. But Jack said it would be easier with the two of us, so she finally agreed. She's probably regretting it right about now, I thought with a smile, seeing Annabelle with her dark blue ensemble (a sports bra and dance pants), her glossy blue hair falling all over the ice-blue skin of her face. I had chosen a less-practical outfit (a frilly orange skirt with a sleek black turtleneck), but I wasn't having any problems. Annabelle was just a wimp. We reached the Holiday Circle, and Annabelle convinced me to stop and rest awhile. Suddenly I heard a rustling in the trees behind me. I whirled around. No one was there. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Annabelle said wearily, taking a seat underneath the Halloween door. "Nothing," I said, "I thought I heard something." I turned back around and pulled out a magazine ("Black is the New Black", the cover proclaimed). But just as I started reading a fascinating article about how to make great dark rims around your eyes, I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned once more. No one there. I returned to the article. "Okay, rub ash over upper and lower lid. Take sponge and-" Another snap. I spun around angrily, "WILL YOU STOP THAT CONFOUNDED SNAPPING?" "Wasn't me!" Annabelle protested. I walked over to where the noise was coming from and said loudly, "Come out and show yourself, you little-" A figure leaped out of the mess of trees, spinning and lashing through the air untill she landed by the Easter door. Annabelle jumped up and frantically ran behind the Halloween tree. The stranger was tall, female and muscular, with long purple hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a short purple dress with a leather corset over it, and wraparound arm guards and leg guards, also purple. Underneath she wore tight black pants, not unlike something Annabelle would wear, with ankle-high black boots that sunk into the leg guards. Her face was rosy, which startled me, since I was so used to seeing pale complexions in Halloween Town. She had narrow black eyes, almond shaped, like she was Asian, and wore light pink lip gloss over naturally purple lips. She also carried two weapons: a katana, which she held in front of her, and a smaller sword, tucked into the sheath in her belt. For a moment all I could hear was Annabelle's shallow breathng. Then the girl said, in a low and dangerous voice: "I am the guardian of Holiday Circle. What brings you here?" She might have looked Asian, but the accent was Italian. "Erm..." I stuttered, "We are searching for a castle. Made of frozen fire." She narrowed her eyes, then lowered the katana. "I am Darletta Agustino. Who are you?" "Lenore Telltale and Annabelle Lee." I said, "Can you help us?" She looked at Annabelle for a moment, then said, "You are looking for the castle of Malicia, yes?" "Yeah. How did you know?" She sighed. "Malicia caused me great sorrow at one time." I frowned, "C-can you tell us what happened?" She narrowed her eyes again. "Can I trust you?" "Of course. We're the good guys." Darletta sighed, "Well, it happened over two years ago... "My family and I were looking for a new home in Italy, and I ran into this handsome, charming, funny young man named Antonio. He was as beautiful as any man could be, and we fell in love. But my mother and father did not approve. They called ours a forbidden love. "Even though it was against my family's wishes, we continued to meet. One night, while we were talking, among other things-" (here she blushed bright red) "he suddenly got up and rushed ut the door. I did not know what to make of that, but I simply waited for him by the window, assuming he would come back. "I was wrong. A few minutes later, I felt a hand reach through the window, then something sharp on my back. "Then I was here. Doomed to protect the Circle for eternity." she finished. "What does that have to do with Malicia?" I asked. "Malicia, as I found out later, had controlled Toni's mind, tricking him into stabbing me." "Oh! How awful!" I gasped. Suddenly, Annabelle spoke up: "You should come back to Halloween Town with us." "That'd be brilliant!" I said brightly. "She could stay in my guestroom," Annabelle said. Darletta smiled, something I had not yet seen from her. "I would love to. But I would need to return here often. At least once a day, or else the curse on me will finish what Toni started." I thought for a moment. "Does this mean you're dead, like us?" "I suppose. Yes." "Cool." So we went in the Halloween door and back to town, one friend richer. 


	4. Kidnapped!

Halloween Town, Lee Residence, 12:00 a.m. Darletta woke with a fright. The nightmares wouldn't stop plaguing her. Every night the dream would come again- a dream of Lenore and Annabelle, her only friends, becoming extinct. Etta got out of bed and turned on her bedside lamp. "Hmmm, that's funny," she said, looking out the window, "What are those black shapes on the ground?" Suddenly, one of the shapes looked up at her- with piercing red eyes! Etta screamed and ran out into the hall, where she ran straight into Annabelle. "Woah," Belle said nervousley, "You saw them too, huh?" "Yes," Etta ran back into her room and grabbed her katana, meeting Annabelle at the front door. The two girls listened, pressing their ears up against the wood. All of a sudden, the door burst open, throwing them back, and three ninjas walked in, wrapped in black cloth from their head to their toes. Etta wondered how they could see. The men stormed towards Belle and Etta, grabbing them by the scruffs of their necks, and the one that held neither whispered, "Her Highness will be most pleased." "So that's it!" thought Etta, "They work for Malicia." The henchmen dragged their new captives outside and threw them into the darkness of a large stagecoach They themselves rode on the back like footmen. In the stagecoach, Etta and Belle looked at who was sitting acrossed from them. Strange ones, they were. A black girl with cat ears and a tail, a short, tiny redhead dressed all in green, and a transparent teenager holding a guitar. "If they want us," Etta whispered, "They may look for Lenore next!" Halloween Town, Telltale House, 12:30 a.m. I gazed sorrowfully out the window (one of my favorite pastimes) and instantly saw the black carraige approaching. It loomed against the moonlit night like a large black cat in desperate need of excercise, and was coming ever closer. I ran to my room and brought out my fourteenth birthday present from Jack and Sally; a sword, long and with an orange and purple jeweled handle. Tucking it in it's sheath beneath my skirt (today long and black), I quickly crouched beneath the reading table in fright. It wasn't long before the door fell from it's hinges, and in came three ninja- like men. "Lenore Telltale," the tallest one said in a harsh, old voice, "We knows yer in hea. We got yer friends, too!" I tried to calm my heavy breathing, but couldn't, and soon he was standing right above the table I hid beneath. "Hello, dearie," he said, throwing the table across the room, "My, my, ain't you a pretty one. Not as pretty as lil miss purple I gots in the car wit me, eh boys?" The others chortled in agreement as the leader grabbed me by my arm and lifted me into the air. "You comin' wit us, Lenny," he said, stinking breath in my face. I struggled, but he pinned my arms behind me and forced me out of the house. The carraige awaited outside. The lead ninja pushed me in and slammed the door in my ankle, causing me to cry out. "Stop yer yappin," he said, as he shoved me in all the way. I looked at my surroundings, still adjusting to the darkness, when I heard a familiar voice. "LENORE IS THAT YOU?" "Annabelle?" "Yes! It's me!" What are you doing here?" Dunno. Darletta's here too." "Really? HI, Darletta!" "Hello." We felt around in the dark and ended up in an alphabetically ordered line. "Where are e going?" Annabelle's voice asked. I didn't know. I couldn't answer that question. So there we were, tumbling towards the unknown, in a dark stagecoach. What could happen next? 


	5. How We Died

Lenore shifted in her seat. They had been riding for three hours already, and her foot had fallen asleep. Beside her, Annabelle had fallen asleep and Darletta was nodding off too. The three strangers opposite her, however, were wide awake. The one closest to the window on Lenore's right was short and curvy, with cocoa skin and a coal black afro, as well as a pair of black cat ears poking out from the top of her head. She wore a leopard print blouse and black jeans. Focusing on her face, Lenore saw black lips, dark freckles around her nose and mouth, and thick eyebrows. Yellow eyes gazed out the window. She yawned and Lenore saw that her canine teeth were sharp. The middle stranger was even shorter than the cat-like girl, and very skinny. She had long red dreadlocks, and looked about ten years old. She wore a frilly green dress and a wide green headband, as well as some gaudy green rings and other jewelry. She fidgeted in her seat, and since the sun had long since risen, Lenore saw wide brown eyes and rosy cheeks. The last person was completely transparent, so Lenore immediately assumed she was a ghost. She wore a t-shirt and jeans, also transparent, and gave off a silver glow. She held a see-through guitar case, which held a red see-through guitar. She looked like she used to have shoulder- length straight blonde hair. It was the green girl that spoke first. "We shouldn't be here." Her voice was so soft and tiny Lenore could barely hear it. Cat-girl spoke next. "We were taken from our homes. Where have you come from?" "Halloween Town," Lenore said. "Me too," the cat girl said, "I'm Catt Errrrwaull." She rolled her 'r's. "Lenore Telltale," Lenore said, "The two sleeping ones are Annabelle Lee, the blue one, and Darletta Augustino is the one with the purple hair." "I'm Clover," the tiny one said quietly, "I'm from St. Patrick's Day Town. I'm a lep-" she stopped. "She's a leprechaun," the ghost girl said. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, Clover," she turned to Lenore, "I am called Hannah. I am from the real world, but was killed many years ago." "I'm sorry," Lenore said, "If it makes you feel any better, we're dead too." "How did you die?" asked Clover. Annabelle and Darletta had woken up by now. "That's a long story..." 


	6. The Death Scene Tango

Catt Heart! Shot! Annabelle Flip! Darletta Uuuh. Lenore Mozart. Hannah Fender. x3 Announcer And now, the six stone-cold murder victims of Halloween Town and the Mortal World are proud to present the Death Scene Tango. All They didn't do it. They didn't do it That's what all the evidence said But we know better We're seeing red and Lenore It's clear that they wanted us dead! (Heart Shot Flip Uuuh Mozart Fender) Catt (spoken) You know how some people exist just to drive you insane? Like... Britney. Britney wanted to model the clothes that I designed. No not model- disgrace! So I'm backstage this one day and I'm really irritated and I just want someone to cooperate. An there's Britney. Sitting on the floor, drinking a soda and smiling. No, not smiling- leering! Then she said to me, she said, "If you don't let me model that dress..." And I didn't. So she grabbed a shotgun out of her bag and fired wo warning shots. Into my heart. All They didn't do it They didn't do it That's what all the evidence said But we knoiw better It didn't matter It's clear that they wanted us dead! Annabelle (spoken) So I'm standing on the highwire, waiting to flip off onto the platform below, when in storms a mother and her three children in a rage. You aren't supposed to let the audience affect your performance, the director said, but I didn't listen, so I kept on walking, all the while looking towards the commotion. When I jumped of, I landed on the cold hard ground. Three yards away from the platform. All It didn't matter We're seeing red and It's clear that they wanted us dead! Darletta (spoken in Italian) Non lo so perche' fece lo. So che ci si faceva d'esser insieme. Lo incontrato molti annos fa tra il Hinterlands, e innamorarsi. Sebbene il nostro famiglia chiamato il nostro un amore vietato, lo constante a incontrare. Ma cosa singola notte, dopo qualche oras di visita, egil rimasto improvvisamante. Di cinque minuti poi, non sentire un mano presa attraso il tendine. Clover Woah! What did he do? Darletta Non lo so. Uuuuh. Ma lo dolore. All but Lenore They didn't do it... Lenore (spoken) When I was alive, I loved to dance. Jazz, Broadway, hip-hop; I was always the talk of the town, and soon a world tour came along. But Lucy, a rival dancer, always wanted my gigs, just so she could make me miserable. Well, this one night during a big talent show in Vienna, I was dancing to a piece by Mozart, when all of a sudden she pushed me from behind, off the stage and into the orchestra pit. I was so worried about that poor man's voilin, I didn't even notice the bow had gone right through me. regular chorus Hannah (spoken) I loved my boyfriend Tommy more than I could possibly say. We were in a rock band you see, so that's how we met. Tommy said he loved me more than anything in the world, but there was one thing he loved more. One night I accidentally spilled some coffee on his guitar cas. He walked over to me, real slow- like, and bashed that metal guitar over my head, hard as he could. All The rotten scum Scum Scum Scum Scum The rotten scum Scum Scum Scum Scum They didn't do it They didn't do it They didn't do it They didn't do it That's what all the evidence said That's what all the evidence said But we know better But we know better We're seeing red and We're seeing red and It's clear that they wanted us dead (repeat) Catt If you don't let me model that dress... Annabelle Three yards away... Darletta Non lo so ma lo dolore... Lenore The bow had gone right through me... Hannah over my head as hard as he could... (Heart. Shot. Flip. Uuuh. Mozart. Fender.)

NOTE: I probably DESTROYED the Italian language just now, and for that I cannot apologize enough Oh yeah, and this is a parody of "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago, which is not mine. ; 


	7. Malice

I felt the sun on my face for the first time in three days as the henchmen dragged me and my friends out of the stage coach. It didn't last long, though, for I had only seconds to admire the scenery (wherever the heck we were) before the henchmen chained our wrists and ankles and dragged us inside a cave. The cave was damp, with moss growing all over the stalagmites and stalagtites, and it reeked horribly of some mixture of fruity perfume and something burning. I wondered where they were taking us. As we rounded a corner, I saw a sight that made my blood run cold. At once, I knew where the burning smel had come from. We had emerged onto the scene of Frozen Fire Castle. It looked just as it had in my vision, which now seemed so long ago. Pillars and towers of frozen flames, coming down in splashes from the flags waving above the structure. I looked at my comrads. Annabelle's eyes were as wide as dinner plates; Darletta and Clover were both crying; Hannah was staring at her sneakers; Catt was staring defiantly at the castle, as if daring it to hold her in it's dungeons. I looked down at my feet, ballet flats slowly making tracks on the damp ground, and wondered what I looked like, without a bath in three days, and cooped up in a smelly old stagecoach. We entered the castle, the henchmen pushing us from behind, holding our chained hands behind our backs. They led us to a door, a grand one at that, embellished with runes and other ancient symbols I did not recognize. They kicked the doors wide open, and forced us inside. Malicia was lounging on a chaise of gold, clothed in a black miniskirt (quite possibly the tiniest skirt I'd ever seen) and a matching cropped top with armbands and leg warmers. Her choppy, blue-black hair was down, laying gracefully over her shoulders and down her back. "ah, my lovely ladies are here!" she said dramatically, sweeping herself across the room and over to us. "Who do we have here? Aaaah, Lenore Telltale." She walked over to me and put a finger on my cheek. "You are a pretty one, my dear." She moved over to Annabelle. "Oh, darling, why so blue?" Annabelle failed to laugh. Malicia reached over and yanked Annabelle's blue rhinestone choker off her neck. "Ow!" Annabelle shrieked, "Give that back!" "Hmmm," Malicia closed her eyes lazily, "Don't wanna." And with that she summoned a purple wind that lifted Annabelle and threw her against the wall. She sat on the floor, agast. Malicia moved over to Darletta. "This one's been stabbed." And with that she took a knife from her pocket and whirled Darletta around, slicing a thin hole in her shirt and revealing a large stab wound. Drletta was horrified and jumped away from the villainous woman. "Hmm, bored now. Throw them into the dungeons, men!" Malicia ordered, shoving Darletta back more. The hechmen dragged us to the dungeon I saw in my vision, throwing Darletta, Annabelle and I into one cage, and Clover, Hannah and Cat into another. As soon as they left, I curled up into a ball and tried to get some rest, but in the cold night air I heard a small voice whisper, "Brothers, wake up. Someone else is here." I lifted myself up and walked to the corner of our cage. In the age next to ours, filthy, thin and hungry-looking, were Lock, Shock and Barrel. "Lenore." Lock whispered so quietly I could scarcely hear him. I moved closer to the edge and reached my hand through the bars, letting it rest on their cage. Lock and shock reached their hands up to meet mine, and Lock entwined his fingers with mine. "How did you know my name?" I whispered. "Because..." Lock hesitated before answering me, "You are our sister, Lenore. We thought you knew." 


	8. The Greatest Escape

For a single moment, just another moment in time, I thought I was dead, so great was my amazement. But soon I was aware of eyes boring into my back, and when I turned around, Annabelle and Darletta were staring at me, aghast. My heart wanted to believe Lock, it really did, but my brain told me otherwise. How could this be? I didn't know my famiy, and Jack would have tld me if he knew, which he must have. Or did he? I shook my head. Too much confusion. "S-sister?" I finally choked out a word. "Yes, Lenore," Shock said quietly, "We thought you knew. Ever since we worked for Oogie we have watched you, hoping you knew you had family..." She trailed off and I felt awful. I randomly tried to guess their ages. I reckoned Barrel was about five, Lock was about six and Shock was about seven. "I..." I could think of nothing to say. Apparently, I didn't need anything to say. A few moments after I was silened two henchmen stormed into the room and roughly unlocked the cages, taking Clover out and leading her from the room. "What's going to happen to her?" Darletta asked. "What happens to all the rest," Barrel said, "She'll burn her." "Who, Malicia?" Annabelle whispered. "Yes." I listened for a moment, then heard Malicia's horrid laugh, before a loud roar of fire and a scream from Clover. The worst part was the silence that followed. Darletta was crying freely now, not bothering to hold back her sobs, and a transparent tear rolled down Hannah's face. We were quiet for nearly ten minutes, each second blasting through my head like a migrane. Then the henchmen came back. I named them Slick and Slim, because Slick was short and wider than he was tall, wih black slicked-back hair, and Slim was as skinny as Slick was fat. He looked as if a strong wind could knock him over. Slick approached the cages, grinning like a madman and breathing in long wheezes. Lock, Shock and Barrel huddled to the corner of their cell, shivering, but Slim dragged them out and beckoned at the door. Malicia entered, in a different outfit (this time a green velvet gown with black lace accents), and pulled out a large leather whip from her belt. "No!" Shock cried. "Please, dont..." Lock said in a pained whisper. Barrel was silent. Before I knew what I was doing, I had kicked Slick in a VEEERY painful place and grabbed the keys from his utility belt. I escaped the cage just as the whip was about to come down on Lock, and managed to grab it from Malicia, as well asa tear her dress a bit. "WHAT-HAVE-YOU DOOOONNE!" she shrieked, "THIS IS A NEW DRESS YOU LITTLE WITCH!" "Why thank you," I said cooly as I raised the whip, "I am quite the witch, aren't I?" And with that Malicia was knocked out. Now to get rid of Slick and Slim... That was easier said than done. The henchmen cornered me, and Slick drew a pocketknife out of that belt of his. Slim advanced in my direction. Suddenly, they screamed, and fell over to reveal Darletta, katana in hand. "Thanks," I said breathlessly, "How did you manage to hide that thing?" "You will never know," Darletta replied. We unlocked my three 'new' siblings and rushed out the door, each of us carrying something. Darletta; her katana, Catt, Barrel; Annabelle, Shock; Hannah, )Who knew she could hold stuff?) the pocketknife; and me, Lock. We rushed out the door, only to find that the castle was melting, causing great streams of fire to fall from everywhere. The ceillings, walls, furniture; everything was dripping liquid fire. We crossed the throne room and suddenly a huge firey beam fell between me and the rest of the group. "You guys take care of yourselves!" I shouted, "I'll get out!" "HERE!" Hannah, holding Shock and Barrel, walked through the beam and set them down. "Family shouldn't be separated." "Thank you," I said, taring up and wondering if I'd ever see Hannah again after this. "I grabbed my brothers and sister and headed towards what I thought was a back way out. It led us to a metal door with an old proverb scratched into it: "Don't waste a moment." I ignored the scratching and ran into the room, Lock, Shock and Barrel in tow. The room wasn't firey, or dangerous at all. It only held one object: an orange door seeming to lead into another room. I opened the door and found myself in a room full of elevator-like buttons, each with a number. I ushered my brothers inside and Shock followed. "What will we do now?" Lock asked in a panic. "Hit the buttons! Maybe they go somewhere!" Barrel suggested. "Okay!" We all hit a button. I pushed '19', Shock pushed '13', Lock pressed '12', and Barrel pressed '8', which was more his height. Suddenly, the room seemed to spin, and we were pushed out of it in a magnificent poof. I couldn't believe what I saw. Lock was waaay taller, and older. Wearing a black t-shirt and red jeans, along with a dog tag nacklace that had a picture of his mask on it. Shock was older, too, and wore a purple tank top and a matching skirt, with fishnet on her arms and legs. She also wore a dog tag necklace with HER mask on it. Barrel wore a hoodie with a sleketon design on it, as well as (yup, you guessed it) a dog tag necklace with HIS mask on it. It was then that Shock spoke. "What happened?" her voice was much more mature, no longer shrill and squeaky, "Dunno." Lock's voice was slightly deeper, but pretty much the same. "I get it!" Barrel's voice hadn't changed at all. "We pushed buttons!" "What?" "The buttons we pushed! That's how old we are now!" "WHAT?" I rushed to a mirror that hung in the corner. I was taller, and my hair was darker, more reddish like Lock's. My eyes were also yellow, like his. I was curvy and my teeth were straighter and better-looking when I smiled. My lps were black with a tinge of blue. "Is... is this what I would have looked like if i'd never left you guys?" "Pretty much." Lock said, "Mother always said I took after you." "Mother...?" It had never occured to me that I ever HAD a mother... "We have to get out of here," I said, "I just hope Annabelle and the others will recognize us"  
And with that, we ran out of the Time Room, as it came to be called, and into the flaming, melting ice, positive about our pasts, but unsure about our future... 


	9. Time To Explain

All I could hear was my heart beating inside my head. The pounding of Lock, Shock and Barrel's feet behind me was distant. The sun had long set, and whispers of a new sunrise were visible behind the tall black mountains. "Are we still in Halloween Town?" Shock asked. "I dunno," Barrel said quietly, "It doesn't look like it. The sun isn't shaped like that in Halloween Town." Lock and I sat down on a couple of rocks along the newly created river of melting flames. I looked to the sky. The sun had risen fully now, but rain clouds were sneaking through. I wondered where Annabelle, Darletta and the others were. I closed my eyes. The warm spray of the flame water grazed my cheeks, like an ocean. "Lenore!" Shock suddenly shouted, "I never noticed! You have a TAIL too!" "Huh? I swiveled around. Sure enough, there it was; a thin demon tail, not unlike my brother's. "Drat." I said, "I don't want a tail!" "And I do?" Lock exclaimed. Despite all that had happened to us, we laughed. "We have to find the others!" Barrel said. Suddenly, we heard a high pitched scream. "Annabelle!" I shouted, dashing forward, my brothers in tow and Shock following them. I rounded a hedge corner and saw Annabelle draped over something, crying her blue eyeballs out. "Annabelle! What's wrong?" She looked up at me, "W-who are you?" "It's me! Lenore!" I shrieked. "Lenore?" Annabelle leaped off of the thing, and I saw what it was. Darletta, lying in a pool of blood. As Annabelle flung her arms around me, I asked, "What happened?" "'Member? She said she couldn't stay out of the hinterlands for more than a day. It's been-" she exploded into more sobs. "Three days." I finished. "She must have been in pain the whole time we were in there" Annabelle nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But, Lenore? Why do you look like this? And is that-" her eyes widened, "Is that Lock Shock and Barrel?" "Uh huh," Lock said. "It's us," Barrel added. "In the flesh," Shock finished. "Wow. What happened?" Aw, rats. I had a lot of explaining to do... 


	10. All Great Tales Must End

Annabelle's blue eyes widened as we told our tale. "No fair, Lenore! You're older than me now!" "So?" "Never mind." We were silent. Lock and I had long since buried Darletta, having a makeshift feuneral ceremony. Annabelle had listened silently, gasping now and then. "Say, whatever happened to Malicia?" I asked. "She escaped. We tried to find her, but she's fleed the country," Annabelle replied. "Just so she can wreak havoc some place else," Lock muttered, playing with the chain of his dog tag necklace sullenly. "And what happened to your friends?" Shock asked, "The see-through one and the one with cat ears...?" "They went back to Halloween Town. Turns out we're in the Real World." "The real world?" Barrel asked in awe. "Yes, in a place called Oklahoma." "Oklahoma?" Shock sneered, "Malicia's evil lair was in Oklahoma?" "Yes." "Interesting," Shock whipped around to face me, "We should go back home." "Home...?" I whispered. I gazed at the foothills, where the sun was beginning to set again. ... "Yes. Home." 


End file.
